Urgent, egg binding?

[joesandy1822]

I have two ducks, a muscovy and a pekin. The muscovy can be off and on with her laying because she goes broody a lot, but the pekin lays pretty much every day. Yesterday the muscovy decided not to lay in the nest box and go somewhere and hide and lay, which I feel put the pekin’s laying off, so she did not lay yesterday. This morning they both laid in their nest box. But now I am noticing that the pekin is acting a bit sluggish and doing some tail pumping. She is eating and drinking, but she just acts a little off. Can there still be an egg in there from yesterday? Or the one that was laid this morning was from yesterday, and the one from today is still in her? I’ve tried to read up on how the eggs are made, but I’m still unclear about that whole process and how many could be in there. I do know that on at least one occasion, my muscovy laid 2 in one morning.

I have given her some calcium gluconate once I noticed the pumping. How often should I give it to her, and what else should I watch for? Thank you for any help. I’ve only had these ducks for a year, so I am no expert and grateful for any help.

Editing this to say that the egg she laid this morning was normal, not soft or strange in any way.

 

[Miss Lydia]

It does sound like she may lay another one. If you don't see an egg by late afternoon I'd give her another ml of the calcium gluconate.

 

[joesandy1822]

It does sound like she may lay another one. If you don't see an egg by late afternoon I'd give her another ml of the calcium gluconate.

Thank you. I’ll keep my eyes on her. Is there any way to give too much? I found a chart here on BYC this morning, and the dose I gave her was more than 1 ml.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Was it this one? I don't think giving a little more than rec will hurt hopefully it will help.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...bound-ducks-preliminary.959537/#post-14940303

 

[joesandy1822]

Was it this one? I don't think giving a little more than rec will hurt hopefully it will help.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...bound-ducks-preliminary.959537/#post-14940303

Yes. I cooped her up for a couple hours, hoping the quiet would help. She is still not laying. She just continues to be a little lethargic, or should I say, just less than her normal, active self. Her tail is still pumping, not furiously, but you can see it. I gave her another dose of the calcium gluconate, and I also very carefully checked her vent with a lubricated finger. I was only comfortable going into about my second knuckle, and I can feel nothing. I’m hoping the stimulation will help her, but I see nothing changing at the moment. I let her out of the coop, and she’s in the pond, although just floating, not really aggressively swimming around like normal. She is still eating, drinking, and pooping/peeing.

 

[Miss Lydia]

What the cal glu does is helps with contractions to push the egg out hopefully you’ll see one this evening or at least by morning

 

[joesandy1822]

What the cal glu does is helps with contractions to push the egg out hopefully you’ll see one this evening or at least by morning

It’s 5:30. No change. Would you give her another milliliter, or would you just let her go until morning and see if she passes it?

 

[Miss Lydia]

If she doesn’t appear to be in distress I’d wait.

 

[joesandy1822]

If she doesn’t appear to be in distress I’d wait.

Still no egg. She is acting pretty much normal. Is it possible that she just had a hard time laying the one egg that morning and it left her sore? Can they pump their tails and become “depressed” or kind of lethargic from passing a difficult egg?

She does have me stumped. She usually lays daily like clockwork, but twice now since she started back up this spring, she’s gone on a temporary “strike” for 7-10 days. It usually begins when the muscovy decides to hold her egg in until I let them out, and try to hide where she’s laying. I think I’m going to keep them cooped and make sure they have laid before I let them out, no matter how late it gets. Not sure if that will help. Maybe I’m wrong, but it does seem like the laying behavior of the muscovy affects the pekin.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I’d keep up with the extra calcium till she lays her next egg just to make sure everything is working properly.
Great to hear she’s back to normal